My Story

MY STORY

Part 1

Hey, all! Well, It's about that time I give you what I promised. My story. It's pretty exciting, so buckle your seat belts! Let's rewind to the year 1993....

April 19-- I was born to my birth mother, Lori. 

April 20-- I was taken home by my parent's, Ron and Debbie, and my big brother, Spencer.

Yes, I am adopted. I've known I was adopted my entire life. Granted, I didn't always know what the word "adopted" meant, but I knew that whatever it was, I was it. I also knew that I had a strong urge within me to find my birth-mom. I wanted AT LEAST to see a picture of her. See if there was a resemblance. See if she had my curly hair, my blue eyes. I also wanted to know if I had any biological siblings out there. So many questions running through my mind, so much intrigue in the subject. 

My parents wanted what was best for me, and had my best interest at heart. As I'd beg for more information, they'd remind me that they will tell me all they know, and give me my papers as soon as I turn 18. That seemed like a lifetime away!! However, I did know bits and pieces related to my adoption as the years building to 18 went on:

-Both my biological parents were Canadian. And for as long I can remember, I've had incredible Canadian Pride. Although I was born here in Utah, I've considered myself Canadian for years. It's often one of the first things I tell anyone I meet, "Hi, my name is Lauren, and I'm Canadian." Wellllll... maybe not in those words exactly, but something close to that effect. 

O Canada...

-I knew my birth parents were living in Eastern Canada at the time.

-They were married when I was born

-I later found out that my birth mom's name was Lori. 

-I knew my biological father, whoever he was, had a sister who was a member of the LDS church. I also knew that she was a big part of me ending up In Utah with a family who is also of the LDS faith. 

-I once dragged it out of my parents that my birth-parents had "named" me a different name than I have now. That name was Bria Elizabeth LeBlanc. 

LEBLANC! I found that bit of information out while I was a junior in High School, and as most of you  know there is a magical thing called Facebook. A tool that has connection to people ALL over the world. BINGO! As soon as I got that last name, I searched all over for... Anything! I didn't know quite what I was looking for, but all I knew was that I wanted to find my birth-parents.

APRIL 19, 2011

My long awaited birthday!!!!!! I woke up, went to school, watched as the day dragged on and on, waited for my family to come home, and continued to get ready for family dinner at Sizzler. My parents called me in and gave me a big yellow folder that said, "Lauren's Papers." 

This was it.

I didn't know what I was expecting to get, but I opened up the folder to find odds and ends relating to my adoption back in '93. Cards from friends and family welcoming the new baby, letters of recommendation, fax's back and forth to the attorney, hospital bills, etc etc. The best part, however, were two small packets that had been filled out by my birth-parents. These packets had everything from their height to their eye and hair color. Medical records. Education records. All that interesting stuff I've longed to know. I was smiling ear to ear as I read over that information. Then, I got to the bottom page of my birth-mom's package, and my eyes welled with tears..

I had an older sister. 

Wow!! I've always wanted a sister!! And there it was on that piece of paper. I didn't know where or how, but I was going to find my sister. My own flesh and blood sister. 

At this point, I was over the moon with joy!!! I could see the puzzle pieces of my life starting to come together, and was perfectly content with what information I got. Then, my Mom said something that would change my life forever... "There's more." She then pulled out a phone record between the attorney, herself and... My aunt Patsy. That's right, On this piece of paper, there was the full name of my biological Aunt. The one I mentioned above that aided in my adoption. Now, my Mom and her sister Laurie had already made this discovery a few days earlier, and were all caught up on her BLOG, and her FACEBOOK!!!! Could it really be that easy? I had it in my mind that if I was ever going to find my birth parents, that it would involve money, time, and all sorts of private investigators. 

But no. There was my aunt Patsy LEBLANC. Right before my eyes. I was immediately checking out her Facebook page, and her beautiful family.. MY COUSINS!! THEY LOOKED LIKE ME! The feeling I felt then was nothing short of miraculous . I spoke with my parents, Ron and Deb, and we discussed that, when I felt good and ready, I would email her. What was I going to say? I don't know. How would she react? I don't know. So many questions, yet again, and so much urge to find out more. 

My Wonderful Aunt Patsy

My own flesh and blood COUSINS! 

These are a few of the pictures that I came across on her Facebook and blog. I couldn't believe my eyes. I HAD to contact her. and I HAD to get my hands on a pair of those mittens! My biological family.. Don't they look amazing?! Let me assure you, they are, but we'll get to that :)










I had a call-back that night for Civil War, and as you can imagine, my mind was DEFINITELY somewhere else. I thought long and hard about what I was going to say, and when. However, as you can imagine, I couldn't wait to contact her. I didn't know what her reaction would be, but I needed to know. I NEEDED it!

So the next day I hopped on my little computer, and wrote the message that would change my life.

    "Patsy,
        My name is Lauren Jayne Loock, and I was born on April 19, 1993. I turned 18 yesterday, and for my birthday I received the names of my biological parents: Blair LeBlanc, and Lori LeBlanc. That would make you my Biological Aunt! Hi! I understand that this might come as somewhat of a shock to you, but all my life i've longed to know more about the people that GAVE that life to me.... "

 That's how it all began...

To Be Continued :)